jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

It seems that there are going to be some changes to who has priority on the roads. Once every ten years, the engineers who write the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) controls everything from how stop signs look to the size of the letters on highway markers. It seems that the group is about to make some changes that - favor cars! Wow! Giving cars priority on the roads of America! If you live in an area where bicycles meander all over the road "because they're allowed to," then you know how frustrating it can be. Naturally, there is opposition to giving more rights to drivers, but isn't that what roads are for? Anyway, I expect any changes to be small and a long time coming.

On a somewhat related topic, I've been watching Russian car crash videos, and it seems that blind people are allowed to drive in Russia. I can't think of any other reason for them to make the moves they do. I was surprised to see several "STOP" signs that could have been imported from the USA. Not all have "STOP" printed on them, but quite a few do. Watching many of these crash videos, they look like they could have been made here, except for the license plates. Many of their roads and highways look just like ours, even to the signage (in Russian, of course).

It's watching crash videos that prompted me to add a camera to the rear window of my car.

Ollieboy

Never gonna happen in NYC. It gets worse every year.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Time will tell. Bike riding is good, but not when you give them part of the road with fast, heavy cars.

quagmire Loc: Greenwood,South Carolina

I watch those also, seems like speed and disregarding signage are the biggest causes of accidents. You simply can't
make sudden moves that fast in a compact car.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

One thing I noticed is how easily SUVs and trucks tip over. We've had SUVs, and there was always a warning in the manual about the tip-over threat.

edwdickinson Loc: Ardmore PA

I think a lot of big cities are becoming less car-friendly. I was in Philadelphia Thursday and I noticed they have removed more on-street car parking in favor of bike stands and motorcycle/moped parking in the meantime they have removed probably a dozen parking lots and garages in center city and they have also put in bike lanes making traffic flow slower.

fourlocks Loc: Londonderry, NH

The problems with bicycles in my town, is that there are no paved shoulders bicyclists can ride on, forcing them to "share the lane" with cars. To me, the Town's cheaping out by not paving at least one side of the road another 36 inches beyond the edge of the lane and it forces the bike/car confrontation we all dislike. Luckily, rail trails have become a national phenomenon turning abandoned strips of land into bike/pedestrian sanctuaries.

As far as making roads less vehicle-friendly, it's been proven that when a busy 4-lane inner city street is redesigned to add bike lanes, pedestrian walkways, shade trees, benches, etc. businesses see an increase in sales because, surprise, surprise, people driving by in cars purchase nothing while pedestrians do. There are also all sorts of environmental and health benefits to turning a barren highway into a "green street" so there needs to be a compromise between pedestrians, bicyclists and motor vehicles.

CWW Loc: North Jersey

Nothing like coming up behind a large group bicycles, sometimes three abreast and no shoulder. We get the bikers from the cities riding the roads in my small town. car drivers get impatient trying to pass. I believe that bikers should follow the same "rules of the road" that motorized vehicles must abide by (single file). I think a letter to the mayor is in order.

fourlocks Loc: Londonderry, NH

Agreed; out on the Cape, it seems bicyclists, especially those on rallies, tend aggressively block the road. Small wonder motorists get angry. If only the town had added a bike lane to one side of the road... And yes, by law, a bicycle has to follow motor vehicle regulations. A friend of mine picked up so much speed going down a hill, he almost rear ended a car and was given a speeding ticket by a cop who happened to see it. He was pretty proud of the ticket until I reminded he he had a moving violation on his record.

berchman Loc: South Central PA

My friend in Transportation Alternatives thinks it get's better every year. Dense cities like NYC should prioritize pedestrians and cycling. Cops should enforce the law equally for drivers and cyclists. Instead, cops hate bicyclists.

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

Jerry, you seem to like car crashes -- why don't you ditch the computer and just go to some NASCAR events!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

And one of them turns around and smiles.

In many states, you can get in trouble for running over a cyclist.

edwdickinson Loc: Ardmore PA

I don't understand, isn't that what the site on my car is for?

Ollieboy

Bicyclists pay no registration fees or road taxes (via gasoline taxes). They don't deserve their own lanes until they pay for them. We are not a third world country.

berchman Loc: South Central PA

Most bicyclists own cars. Cars create wear on the roads; bicycles don’t. So your gas tax helps to pay for the damage motorists cause to roads. The reason roads were improved from rutted dirt to paved was because of pressure from bicyclists. Look it up. I own two cars and I also ride a bike. Bicyclists have their own lanes in such third world countries as Denmark and Holland.